PREVIEW: the Knives of Summer

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1. Highland Clouds - Cask Strength Hybrid Chef

Highlighting the beauty of salvaged materials, this versatile and popular-sized blade is made by fusing retired bourbon barrel bands, nickel and high carbon steel into a single, homogeneous piece. Meticulously forged to keep the core steel centered, the high carbon working edge is protected under the labor intensive recycled cladding. The santoku-gyuto hybrid blade features a versatile, slightly convex grind that is thin behind the edge and easy to maintain. The full tang bolster imparts a confident feel, while the majority hidden tang adds to the comfort and ease of maintenance while also shedding weight. Comfortable form fitting handle.

• size: 7 1/4” blade / 12 1/4” overall / 1 7/8” heel

• weight: 187 grams

• blade: bourbon barrel strap (Willett Distillery, Bardstown, KY), pure nickel and 26C3 carbon steel, machine finish

• handle: toasted Cherry burl (Athens, GA), Spalted maple (Asheville, NC), African Blackwood (Paris, clarinet factory), bronze hardware

• $1875

2. After the Storm - Erwin, TN Topographic Chef

When we first moved to Tennessee, a new friend brought me a couple small saw blades from an abandoned mill outside of Erwin, TN (devastated by Hurricane Helene). They sat in my shop for years, until I finally had time to test them and put them to use. I cut and layered that blade with recycled Swedish industrial bandsaw to create this topographic damascus. The end result reminds me me of the new river bed left in the wake of Hurricane Helene, especially visible as you pass through Erwin, TN from Asheville, NC to Jonesborough, TN. Highlighting the beauty of salvaged materials and inspired by our natural and ever changing landscape, this slender blade features a versatile, slightly convex grind that is both thin behind the edge and easy to maintain. The handle features a fully tapered tang for balance and is dressed in a beautiful specimen of stabilized black ash burl.

• size: 8 3/8” blade / 13 3/4” overall / 1 7/8” heel

• weight: 214 grams

• blade: sawmill carbon steel damascus (Erwin, TN & Sweden), machine finish

• handle: stabilized black ash burl, copper and black hardware

• $1535

3. Piedmont - Clad Trimming Petty

This slender blade walks the line between a small chefs knife and large petty. The upswept tip screams brisket but the slenderness and light weight ask you to use it all day long without fatigue. In making this, I fused piedmont patterned damascus over my favorite kitchen knife steel for a blade that is as functional as it is beautiful. Fully tapered tang for balance and dressed in a stunning, complimentary piece of locally storm felled (donated by a friend) and stabilized redbud.

• size: 7 1/2” blade / 11 7/8” overall / 1 1/2 heel

• weight: 119 grams

• blade: pattern welded high carbon damascus steel over 26C3 carbon steel, hand finish

• handle: redbud (Jonesborough, TN), bronze

• $1685

4. Kumo - Sujihiki Slicer

One of my favorite blades is the elegantly slender sujihiki slicing knife. Coming from a blacksmith background, I am highly attracted to the forging process and the risk/rewards of making my own stainless clad laminated blade materials. Given its length, the material has much more opportunity to fail during the fusing and forging process, making this piece a particularly rewarding challenge to pull off. This knife has the length and thinness to slice effortlessly through your protein of choice. I made the blade by fusing and forging stainless steel over my favorite carbon steel. The mysterious smokey effect is brought to light during the etching process after the blade is painstakingly finished by hand - and where the name for this blade comes from, Japanese for cloud is “kumo”. The part hidden/part full tang handle is dressed in local sycamore (from friend and neighbor Curtis Buchanan’s seat stash) and some local redbud from a friend with a micarta spacer.

• size: 10 1/2” blade / 16 1/16” overall / 1 9/16” heel

• weight: 200 grams

• blade: shop made stainless clad san mai with 26C3 carbon steel core, hand finish

• handle: stabilized redbud & sycamore (Jonesborough, TN), micarta spacer and hardware

• $2275

5. Hollow-Forged Laminated Chuka Bocho - Ash Burl

Coming from a blacksmith background, I am highly attracted to the forging process and the risk/rewards of making my own stainless clad laminated blade materials. Food release from the blade is always on a chef knife maker’s mind and there are several ways to address this. To prevent food from sticking, the upper 2/3s of this blade have a hollow forged in complete with a deep forged texture. This deep blade is made for chopping onions, detailed slicing and even breaking down whole chicken, but you are sure to find other uses for it and may find it as your daily driver. Despite its similar shape, this is different from a meat cleaver, so if you’re looking to do heavy chopping of bones, woody stems and frozen food, check out a few cleavers further down.

• size: 7 5/16” blade / 12 1/2” overall / 2 3/4” heel

• weight: 315 grams

• blade: shop made stainless clad san mai with 26C3 carbon steel core, hand finish

• handle: exhibition grade stabilized black ash burl

• $1500

6. Hollow-Forged Laminated Chuka Bocho - Sycamore

Coming from a blacksmith background, I find a lot of joy in the forging process and the risk/rewards of making my own stainless clad laminated blade materials. Food release from the blade is always on a chef knife maker’s mind and there are several ways to address this. To prevent food from sticking, the upper 2/3s of this blade have a hollow forged in complete with a forged texture and a black kuroichi finish for extra durability. This deep blade is made for chopping onions, detailed slicing and even breaking down whole chicken, but you are sure to find other uses for it and may find it as your daily driver. Despite its similar shape, this is different from a meat cleaver, so if you’re looking to do heavy chopping of bones, woody stems and frozen food, check out a few cleavers further down.

• size: 6 3/8” blade / 11 1/2” overall / 2 3/4” heel

• weight: 288 grams

• blade: shop made stainless clad san mai with 26C3 carbon steel core, hand finish

• handle: stabilized sycamore (Jonesborough, TN)

• $1385

7. Kitchen Creature I - Hollow-Forged Laminated Bunka

Coming from a blacksmith background, I find a lot of joy in the forging process and the risk/rewards of making my own stainless clad laminated blade materials. Food release from the blade is always on a chef knife maker’s mind and there are several ways to address this. To prevent food from sticking, the upper 2/3s of this blade have a hollow forged in complete with a forged texture and a black kuroichi finish for extra durability. This deep blade is made for chopping onions, detailed slicing and even breaking down whole chicken, but you are sure to find other uses far beyond those and will likely make this creature your daily driver.

• size: 6 1/2” blade / 11 3/4” overall / 2 5/16” heel

• weight: 194 grams

• blade: shop made stainless clad san mai with 26C3 carbon steel core, hand finish

• handle: emerald micarta, bocote, copper

• $1455

8. Kitchen Creature II - Hollow-Forged Laminated Bunka

Coming from a blacksmith background, I find a lot of joy in the forging process and the risk/rewards of making my own stainless clad laminated blade materials. Food release from the blade is always on a chef knife maker’s mind and there are several ways to address this. To prevent food from sticking, the upper 2/3s of this blade have a hollow forged in complete with a forged texture and a black kuroichi finish for extra durability. This deep blade is made for chopping onions, detailed slicing and even breaking down whole chicken, but you are sure to find other uses far beyond those and will likely make this creature your daily driver.

• size: 7 3/8” blade / 12 3/4” overall / 2 9/16” heel

• weight: 215 grams

• blade: shop made stainless clad san mai with 26C3 carbon steel core, hand finish

• handle: bone micarta, stabilized century+ old heart pine flooring (Jonesborough, TN), bronze

• $1500

9. Trout Chef - Oak Burl

This popularly sized performance chefs knife features a heavily forge-textured spine with a durable kuroichi finish and a rainbow of torch temper colors - a finish reminiscent of trout and heavily inspired by the rivers and creeks of beautiful east Tennessee. Bevels are polished to an easy-to-maintain satin workhorse finish. The full tang bolster imparts a stout feel while the majority hidden tang adds to the comfort and ease of maintenance. This build is finished in reclaimed Blackwood from a clarinet factory in Paris and hurricane Irma (2017) storm felled oak burl from Atlanta. Modified octagonal handle. (2 available, actual knife may differ slightly from image)

• size: 8 3/8” blade / 13 1/8” overall / 2” heel

• weight: 182 grams

• blade: 26C3 carbon steel, trout finish

• handle: stabilized Oak Burl (storm felled in Atlanta, GA - Hurricane Irma 2017), African Blackwood (Paris, clarinet factory), turquoise and black spacer

• $995

10. Trout Chef - Thuya Burl I

This popularly sized performance chefs knife features a heavily forge-textured spine with a durable kuroichi finish and a rainbow of torch temper colors - a finish reminiscent of trout and heavily inspired by the rivers and creeks of beautiful east Tennessee. Bevels are polished to an easy-to-maintain satin workhorse finish. The full tang bolster imparts a stout feel while the majority hidden tang adds to the comfort and ease of maintenance. This build is finished in reclaimed Moroccan Thuya burl from the mill that processes Aston Martin and Rolls Royce dashboards as well as blue smoke sycamore (from chair-making friend & neighbor Curtis Buchanan’s seat stash). Form fitting handle.

• size: 7 1/4” blade / 12 5/16” overall / 1 7/8” heel

• weight: 150 grams

• blade: 26C3 carbon steel, trout finish

• handle: Moroccan Thuya burl from mill that processes Aston Martin and Rolls Royce dashboards, stabilized blue smoke sycamore (Jonesborough, TN), stabilized black ash burl spacer, natural micarta hardware

• $900

11. Trout Chef - Thuya Burl II

This popularly sized performance chefs knife features a heavily forge-textured spine with a durable kuroichi finish and a rainbow of torch temper colors - a finish reminiscent of trout and heavily inspired by the rivers and creeks of beautiful east Tennessee. Bevels are polished to an easy-to-maintain satin workhorse finish. The full tang bolster imparts a stout feel while the majority hidden tang adds to the comfort and ease of maintenance. This build is finished in reclaimed Moroccan Thuya burl from the mill that processes Aston Martin and Rolls Royce dashboards as well as blue smoke sycamore (from chair-making friend & neighbor Curtis Buchanan’s seat stash). Form fitting handle.

• size: 7 1/4” blade / 12 5/16” overall / 1 7/8” heel

• weight: 150 grams

• blade: 26C3 carbon steel, trout finish

• handle: Moroccan Thuya burl from mill that processes Aston Martin and Rolls Royce dashboards, stabilized blue smoke sycamore (Jonesborough, TN), stabilized black ash burl spacer, natural micarta hardware

• $865

12. Trout Chef - Spalted Maple

This popularly sized performance chefs knife features a heavily forge-textured spine with a durable kuroichi finish and a rainbow of torch temper colors - a finish reminiscent of trout and heavily inspired by the rivers and creeks of beautiful east Tennessee. Bevels are polished to an easy-to-maintain satin workhorse finish. The full tang bolster imparts a stout feel while the majority hidden tang adds to the comfort and ease of maintenance. This build is finished in stabilized spalted maple from Asheville, NC, stabilized amethyst sycamore (from chair-making friend & neighbor Curtis Buchanan’s seat stash) and a spacer made from Gibson Guitars maple (TN). Form fitting handle.

• size: 7 1/4” blade / 12 5/16” overall / 1 7/8” heel

• weight: 178 grams

• blade: 26C3 carbon steel, trout finish

• handle: stabilized spalted maple (Asheville, NC), stabilized amethyst sycamore (Jonesborough, TN), stabilized Gibson guitars maple (TN), copper

• $865

14. Treehugger - Woodgrain Spalted Chef

This popularly sized performance chefs knife features a heavily forge-textured spine with a durable kuroichi finish and a rainbow of torch temper colors - inspired by the forests of beautiful East Tennessee. Bevels are polished to an easy-to-maintain satin finish. The full tang bolster imparts a stout feel while the majority hidden tang adds to the comfort and ease of maintenance. This build is finished in stabilized spalted maple from Asheville, NC. (2 available, actual knife may differ slightly from image)

• size: 7 1/8” blade / 12 1/4” overall / 1 7/8” heel

• weight: 174 grams

• blade: 26C3 carbon steel, textured, machine finished

• handle: stabilized spalted maple (Asheville, NC), copper, black hardware

• $765

15. Lichen - Pablo Soto’s Petty

Pablo Soto of NOMA has found his most used knives are a petty and a slicer. Quite often, pettys are too small for detailed chopping or too short for slicing and slicers can be uncomfortably long during a busy service. I designed this for his detailed work like scoring squid, very thin slicing of preserved fruits or carving and slicing duck breast. This is my latest for the unofficial series of collaborative chef designs, and first within my Performance line. This particular release is inspired by the colors of lichen I find on walks in the woods around beautiful East Tennessee. (2 available, actual knife may differ slightly from image)

• size: 7 1/4” blade / 11 3/4” overall / 1/2” heel

• weight: 143 grams

• blade: 26C3 carbon steel, stonewash finish

• handle: Lichen g10, bronze hardware

• $765

16. Buckshot Lowlight Petit Chef

In the Classic Collection, I’ve distilled the process and design down to the essentials. This small but versatile chefs knife features a heavily forge-textured spine with a dark and durable kuroichi finish. Shaped from a timeless high carbon steel and polished to an easy to maintain satin finish. Full tang handle. (2 available, actual knife may differ slightly from image)

• size: 6 3/4” blade / 11 1/2” overall / 1 3/4” heel

• weight: 125 grams

• blade: forged 8670 lumber mill saw steel, machine finish

• handle: stabilized Gibson Guitars toasted maple (TN), bronze

• $745

17. Buckshot Protein Petty

This petty has been hand forged from a timeless high carbon steel and polished to an easy to maintain satin finish. Deeply textured and durable forged kuroichi texture. Sturdy full tang handle. Upswept tip lends itself to protein work.

• size: 6 1/4” blade / 10 3/4” overall / 1 1/2” heel

• weight: 126 grams

• blade: forged classic 10-series high carbon steel, machine finish

• handle: stabilized exhibition grade black ash burl, copper hardware

• $755

18. Tomato!

Made from my favorite kitchen knife steel, this knife is well suited for coring and cutting your favorite garden morsels. Far beyond tomatoes, you will find many uses for this one in the off season. Full tang construction and a fully rounded handle give this beaut a classic, timeless feel. Sure to fill a void you didn’t know you had!

• size: 5 5/8” blade / 10 1/8” overall / 1 1/8” heel

• weight: 98 grams

• blade: 26C3 carbon steel, machine finish

• handle: zebra wood (gift from blacksmith & friend Addison DeLisle), stabilized mossy sycamore (Jonesborough, TN), copper & natural hardware

• $475

19. Tomato! II

Made from my favorite kitchen knife steel, this knife is well suited for coring and cutting your favorite garden morsels. Far beyond tomatoes, you will find many uses for this one in the off season. Full tang construction and a fully rounded handle give this beaut a classic, timeless feel. Sure to fill a void you didn’t know you had!

• size: 5 1/2” blade / 10” overall / 1 3/16” heel

• weight: 92 grams

• blade: 26C3 carbon steel, machine finish

• handle: zebra wood (gift from blacksmith & friend Addison DeLisle), stabilized blue smoke sycamore (Jonesborough, TN), copper & natural hardware

• $475

20. Talisman

Forged from layers of recycled bourbon barrel straps and copper with a high performance 26C3 carbon steel core, this full tang paring knife has an energy that is hard to photograph. The form fitting African Blackwood (Paris clarinet factory reject) begs to be handled yet directs the user to hold her delicately for the laser like precision of this hair popping edge demands full presence of mind. The grip is small and fits intimately into your hand.

What originally started as making a unique material for a custom order turned into a rabbit hole. I have become obsessed with making this material combination work and am still working through it. Countless hours and failures have lead to some of the smallest useable chunks for steel to forge blades from - a process that is both heartbreaking and challenging. Each attempt yields just enough success to keep me coming back for more. Every completed blade represents four that ended up in the scrap bucket.

• size: 4 1/2” blade / 8 3/8” overall / 1 1/16” heel

• weight: 81 grams

• blade: 26C3 carbon steel, bourbon barrel straps, copper, hand finish

• handle: African Blackwood (Paris, clarinet factory), mosaic & black hardware

• $965